Rising food prices and inflation are hurting households across the United States. This situation is worse in all those households living on Social Security alone. Until the COLA for next year does not increase the retirement benefits of retired U.S. citizens, they will find it very difficult to make ends meet every month. Therefore, it is important to know how to manage your Social Security money well. Then you can get the maximum benefit from each monthly check.
Whether you have an average pension or a slightly higher one, the important thing is to learn how to save money when you go food shopping. With a series of easy tips, Social Security will seem like a bigger payment. You’ll even be able to save money to spend on a vacation, a car or anything else you need.
Tips for saving on food with Social Security
These tips are very easy for most people to follow. With them, you won’t spend all your Social Security money as quickly and you may even be able to save some. It will improve your household finances a bit.
- Make a weekly meal plan before you go shopping: This tip may be the hardest to do because it requires concentration. Making an orderly, healthy meal plan with seasonal ingredients is not easy, but it is necessary. You should control the food for breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus some healthy snacking between meals.
- Don’t shop without a list: Another common mistake is to shop for food without a list of what you need. This mistake causes us to spend much more of our Social Security money on something unnecessary. Check that at home you have basic products such as rice, pasta or eggs before going out to do the shopping. Otherwise, you can buy ingredients that you already have at home.
- Always cook at home: Another common mistake is to eat in restaurants. It’s fine once in a while, but not often. If you want to save some money from your Social Security, you should cook your own food. Limit eating at a restaurant away from home to once a month. Besides, cooking your own food is healthier.
- Make a food budget: This tip is an extension of all of the above. You should have a set budget for food shopping. This budget should not exceed 30% of your Social Security income. If you see that the money is not enough, try to look for other cheaper food options and do not buy unnecessary products such as snacks or chocolate.
- Cook twice as much: the last of these tips may be the one that helps you save the most, but not on the products as such. By cooking twice as much as you need, you can freeze the other portion and have it ready for next time. This will save you on your electricity bill, plus you won’t waste any more time. Then you only need to defrost the food and heat it up.
With these tips, you can save some money from your Social Security. This way you will have a budget for other goals such as a nice vacation a year.